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MWL Dayton Dragons

Lansing Rallies in 9th to Edge Dragons, 7-6

August 13, 2021 - Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release


Lansing, Mich. - The Lansing Lugnuts scored one run in the bottom of the eighth and another in the ninth as they came from behind to defeat the Dayton Dragons 7-6 on Friday night. The Dayton loss snapped their four-game winning streak as Lansing overcame an early three-run deficit to battle back to win.

The Dragons got a two-run home run from Quin Cotton in the second inning and held a 3-0 lead going to the bottom of the third before Lansing started back. The Lugnuts took a 5-3 lead in the fifth before the Dragons staged their own comeback effort, scoring two in the sixth to make it 5-5.

Dayton's Jack Rogers, who joined the ballclub on Wednesday after closing out his college career this spring at Sam Houston State, belted a tie-breaking home run to right field in the top of the eighth to give Dayton a 6-5 lead. It was the first homer of Rogers' professional career.

But Lansing tied the game in the eighth and pushed across the winning run in the ninth on a one-out single by Yerdel Vargas that brought in Drew Swift from second base on a close play at the plate to end the game.

The game marked just the third time this season that Dayton has lost after holding a lead of at least three runs.

The Dragons nearly took the lead in the top of the ninth. After a pair of walks in the inning and a groundout to first base by Michael Siani pushed runners to second and third with two outs, Lansing reliever Charles Hall bounced a breaking ball that eluded Lugnuts catcher Jared McDonald. The runner at third, Alex McGarry, raced home to try to score on the play, but McDonald got to it quickly and made a perfect throw to the plate to Hall, who put the tag on McGarry to end the threat on a close play.

Rogers was 2 for 4 to lead a seven-hit Dayton attack. Cotton's home run was his second in the last two nights and team-leading ninth of the year. Jacob Hurtubise had a triple, walk, and run scored.

Dragons starting pitcher Lyon Richardson allowed five runs on eight hits over four and two-thirds innings, striking out eight and walking two. The loss was charged to Sam Hellinger (1-2), who pitched to three batters in the bottom of the ninth and allowed the game-ending hit.

Notes: The Dragons have hit 10 home runs in the first four games of the series in Lansing, topping their previous season-high for most homers in a series. They hit eight in the first set of the year, a six-gamer at Great Lakes. The current series in Lansing still has two games remaining to play. The Dragons hit only seven home runs in the entire month of July. Cotton and Siani have each hit two in the series, while Rogers, McGarry, Matt McLain, Ivan Johnson, Eric Yang, and Juan Martinez have hit the other six.

The Race: The Dragons saw their lead in the East Division of the High-A Central League trimmed to one-half game over Lake County. Great Lakes is in third place, one game behind the Dragons. In the race for a playoff berth, the Dragons fell to one game behind Cedar Rapids in the battle for the final slot.

Up Next: The Dragons (47-41) meet Lansing (42-46) in the fifth game of the six-game series on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. Eduardo Salazar (2-5, 3.92) will start for the Dragons against Lansing's Jack Cushing (6-0, 2.48).

On the Air: All Dragons games are broadcast on radio on 980 WONE AM Fox Sports. Games can be heard on smart phones, iPads, and other mobile devices via the free Dragons Mobile App, or on a computer at wone.com. Games are also available on HD Radio on 104.7 WTUI HD 2.

For Dragons 2021 ticket information, call (937) 228-2287 or go to daytondragons.com.

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